Zerbi Matteo

Matteo Zerbi has been a Research Fellow in Geotechnics at the Polytechnic University of Milan since March 2025, where he teaches Foundation Engineering and is an assistant professor in various courses in Soil and Rock Mechanics and Soil-Structure Interaction. He earned his PhD in Structural, Seismic, and Geotechnical Engineering (with honors) and his Master's Degree in Civil Engineering (with honors) from the same university. During his academic career, he completed a one-year visiting research period at the University of Sheffield (UK) and a research period at the University of Bodenkultur Vienna (BOKU, Austria). His scientific activity mainly concerns soil and rock mechanics, with particular attention to the behavior of granular materials, the study and modeling of geotechnical structures (tunnels, shallow and deep foundations, landslide protection structures), and the use of advanced computational approaches in large-displacement regimes for the analysis of landslides.

Career

2024 - PhD in Structural, Seismic, and Geotechnical Engineering (with Honors), Polytechnic University of Milan 2019 - Master's Degree in Civil Engineering (with Honors), Polytechnic University of Milan 2017 - Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering (with Honors), Polytechnic University of Milan.

Research

Research focuses on soil and granular materials mechanics, aiming to understand and model the physical mechanisms governing their behavior under static and dynamic conditions. A central focus is the development of advanced constitutive models for dry and saturated granular materials, capable of consistently describing the transition between fluid-like and solid-like behavior, and vice versa. This aspect is crucial for interpreting complex phenomena such as liquefaction, granular flows, and landslides in large deformations. In addition to theoretical development, research includes the use and implementation of advanced numerical approaches, particularly the Material Point Method (MPM) and the Discrete Element Method (DEM), for simulating impact problems and the interaction between granular masses and structures. In this context, for example, the impact of blocks on granular layers and the interaction between granular flows and obstacles are studied, with the aim of improving understanding of the mechanisms of energy dissipation and load transfer to protective structures. Another line of research is dedicated to the development of design approaches for analyzing the interaction between granular flows and structures, aimed at defining reliable and efficient design criteria for defense structures against rapid natural phenomena. Simplified methods are also being developed for analyzing tunnel excavation in cohesive soils and for assessing the behavior of shallow and deep foundations subjected to combined, monotonic, and cyclic loads, with particular attention to the effects of deformation accumulation and stiffness degradation. Finally, a significant portion of the research focuses on the study of the triggering mechanisms of rapid flow-type landslides induced by seismic liquefaction, with the aim of defining useful approaches for estimating the volumes mobilized and assessing the mobility potential of the material involved.

Selected Publications

M. Zerbi, L. Flessati, C. di Prisco. Finite Element Analyses of undrained cavity unloading considering in-situ anisotropic state of stress. Gallerie e Grandi Opere Sotterranee. 2025

P. Marveggio, M. Zerbi, I. Redaelli, C. di Prisco. Granular material regime transitions during high energy impacts of dry flowing masses: MPM simulations with a multi-regime constitutive model. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics. 2024.

P. Marveggio, M. Zerbi, C. di Prisco. A multi-phase/multi-regime modelling approach for saturated granular media. Computers and Geotechnics. 2024.

C. di Prisco, I. Redaelli, M. Zerbi. Inclined Block Impacts on Granular Strata: Coupled DEM-FDM Numerical Investigation and Rheological Modelling. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering. 2023.

Grants, awards and Honours

2025 – ERC Visiting Fellowship – Project “TRANSFORM – Transitions in Granular Materials: Novel Solid-Fluid Constitutive Formulations and Computational Modelling”.

2024 - Short Term Scientific Mission Grant, COST Action ON-DEM - Project "Implementation of a lubricated contact model in a DEM-LBM code".